Detachable wheel mounting for boats



y 5, 1953 F. A. OLIVER 2,637,050

DETACHABLE WHEEL MOUNTING FOR BOATS Filed May 10, 1950 2 SHEETSSI'IEET l FlG.l.

ATTORNEY May 5, 1953 F. A. OLIVER 2,637,050

DETACHABLE WHEEL MOUNTING FOR BOATS Filed May 10, 1950 2 SHEETS-Sl-IEE'I 2 5 FIGS.

INVENTOR.

FRANK ALLEN OLIVER Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED STATES ATENT GFFIC'E DETACHABLE l/VHEEL MOUNTING FOR BOATS This; invention relates to detachable wheel mountings for boats and particularly for the launching and beaching of fairly small boats.

Objects of the invent on are to provide simple and compact wheel mountings, easily attachable to and detachable from a boat, particularly while the same is afloat; to support a boat on such mountings by means .of its gunnel rails; to adapt the annual and spray 'rails in conjunction to operatively retain such mountings in place; and to adapt such mountingstobe adjusted to variouss hull contours of boats.

These and various other objects are attained by the construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevational View of bow portion of a boat, showing installation of a mounting for a wheel underlying the heel of such portion.

Fig. 2 is a front View of said wheel and mount ing, omitting the boat.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the wheel and mounting.

Fig. 4 is a perspective detail of the bow handle of the boat.

Fig. 4A is a sectional detail on the line ell-44A of 1.

Fig. 5 is a side elevaticnal view of the stern portion of said heat, showing installation thereon ,of a rear wheel mounting.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional. view, taken on the line 6'-.'$ of Fig. 5, and showing both rear wheel mountings.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 1-4 of Fig. 5 and showing various details or the rear wheel mounting.

3 is a cross sectional view of the rear wheel mounting, taken on the line 8-il of 7.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a socketed plate secured to the spray rail of the boat.

In these views, the reference character l designates the hull of a boat of a type commonly driven by an outboard motor (not shown). Said hullhas gunnel rails E, spray rails 3, a forward deck 4, a bow handle 5, a heel ii, and a stern i, such features being all common and well known.

Reference, is first made'to Figs. l4, showing a wheel 8 and a mounting suited to dispose and retain such wheel beneath the forward portion of the keel. Such mounting comprises a pair of elongated rigidly spaced angle bars 9, adapted to straddle the prow of the hull and to extend downwardly and rearwardly from the forward 2 deck, with their upper portions in substantial parallelism with theccrresponding portion or the stem l. A yoke iii, rigidly interconnecting the upper ends of the bars 9,..projects vforwardly from such bars, conforming to and engaging the prow portions of the gunnel rails,'such yoke having opposed flange Illa projecting toward each other and seating on the deck l. A pairof short angle bars 5 l seat upon and are secured to the yoke, being spaced to engage at opposite sides of the handle and rigidly interconnected by at least one bolt 52., Said handle. is. bridged suihciently above the deck .61 to allow a latch pin it to pass freely under the handle, when inserted in sockets oppositely formed in the bars l I. The upper portions of the bars 9 bulge slightly apart, as best appears in Fig. 2, to amply clear the hull, and are twisted in a manner to maintain their inner in substantial parallelism with the hull sides, despite varying curvature of the latter. The wheel it is journaled between the lower ends of the bars ii on a bolt i l mounted jointly in such ends, rotating in the vertical plane determined by the heel. Below the hull and at opposite sides of the wheel, the bars 9 rigidly carry similar rearwardly projecting truss elements, each comrising an upper bar it and a lower bar ll, rigidly interconnected, the lower ends of the bars it being anchored by the bolt M. To seat the hull and space it above the wheel, an angle bar ll spans the bars i? just above the bars i5, and another angle bar it spans the upper ends of the bars it. Both flanges of each bar ii and if; have central V-shaped. notches iii to retain the keel t.

In applying the described mounting to a hull, it is necessary merely to lower the mounting in its straddling relation to the prow, until the yoke It is properly seated on the deck. Such seating will assure proper engagement of the bars i? and. 8 with the heel, as the wheel is thrust rearwardly to its position shown in Fig. l. The pin E3 is then inserted in the bars H to extend through the handle 5. A reversal of these few steps serves to remove the mounting. With the pin l3 in place, the mounting is substantially held in its illustrated position of use. The bars'l'l and id, or either of them, prevent rearward swinging of the mounting beyond said position, and the portions ma of the yoke prevent forward swinging. Forward swinging will further be resisted by any surface on which the wheel travels, as the boat is launched or beached.

Referring now to the subject matter of Figs. 5 to 9, a pair of rear wheels 20 are adapted to be installed, for launching and beaching purposes, at opposite sides of the hull. These wheels have duplicate independent mountings, each comprising a pair of spaced upper angle bars 2| in endto-end relation with a pair of spaced lower angle bars 22, each pair of bars employing a suitable number of spacer bolts 23. In applying these rear mountings, they are positioned to extend downwardly from the gunnel rail, at opposite sides of the stern portion of the hull. The upper ends of the paired bars 2| pivotally carry a G clamp 24, suited to straddle the gunnel rail, one leg of such clamp being inserted between the bars 2! to engage a pivot pin 25, and the other leg being tapped to receive a clamping screw 26, adapted to apply pressure to the inner face of said rail. Further mounted (preferably rigidly) on the upper ends of the bars 2|, is an angle bar seat 21 for the gunnel rail. Each wheel 20 is journaled on an axle 28 inwardly extending from the lower ends of the corresponding bars 22, and secured in any suitable manner between such bars, as by a bolt 29. The inner end of each axle 28 is mounted in the lower end of a hanger 30, being retained by a nut 31. Above the wheel 20, the hanger converges toward the bars 22, in extending upwardly, being terminally inserted between the bars 22 and bolted to the latter, as indicated at 32.

Fitted between the pairs of bars 2| and 22 at their adjoined ends is a link bar 33, affording a slight selective angularity between the upper and lower bars to suit the mounting to different hull contours. Thus the end portions of the link bar have transversely elongated slots 34 through which upper and lower clamping bolts 35 and 35a, extend respectively into the upper bars 21 and lower bars 22 and carry clamping nuts 35b. The adjoined ends of the upper and lower bars are pivotally attached to the mid portion of the link bar, as by rivets 36. By virtue of this twopart construction of each rear mounting, the nuts 351) may be loosened, in initially adapting the mountings to a certain hull, allowing said bolts to be shifted in the slots 34 to best conform the mountings angularly to such hull, the nuts then being tightened to firmly maintain the selected angularity of the mountings.

Above the link bar 33, each pair of bars 21 rigidly carries a pin 3'! having an upper end portion inserted between said bars, and having a lower portion projecting inwardly and downwardly from said bars for insertion in a socket 38 of a plate 39 fastened by screws 40 against the top face of the spray rail. Through the upper end of the pin 31 is extended a bolt 4| disposed between the bars 2| and clamped thereto by a head on one end of said bolt and a nut on its other end. The mid portion of the pin 31 is mounted on a bolt 42 disposed transversely to the bolt 4| and allowing the pin a slight pivotal adjustment, when the bolt 4! has been loosened, such adjustment serving to best adapt said pin for insertion in the socket 38, on initial adjustment of the described mountings to a certain hull. It is preferred to form the three described mountings of a light metal such as aluminum.

Primary advantages of the described mount ings are their simple construction, compact nature, ready adaptation to different hull sizes and shapes, and the rapidity and facility with which they may be applied to or removed from a boat. Also highly desirable is the fact that these mountings require for their installation only two quite small and inconspicuous fittings (the plates 39), as permanent attachments to the boat. The three mountings are removed as soon as the boat is afloat, and are again applied upon approaching a beach on which the boat is to be wheeled from the water. During intervals between boat trips, the mountings will ordinarily remain attached to the boat. For boats of lighter sizes, the two rear mountings usually sufiice, the bow being manually carried. The described attachments are to be distinguished from wheel mountings adapting a boat for trailer travel behind a car, such mountings being necessarily quite heavy and requiring very secure retention to the boat.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a boat having gunnel rails and spray rails downwardly spaced from the gunnel rails and having sockets substantially opposed transversely of the boat, of a pair of elongated mountings exteriorly adjoining opposite sides of the boat and each having an upper and a lower end, a pair of wheels journaled on said lower ends, a pair of clamps pivoted on said upper ends for gripping the gunnel rails, seats on said upper ends for underlying the gunnel rails, and elements carried by the mountings between their ends engageable in said sockets to hold the mountings in proximity to the spray rails.

2. In combination, a boat having a gunnel rail and a spray rail downwardly spaced from the gunnel rail, a member secured to the spray rail and formed with a socket, an elongated mounting having an upper and a lower end, a wheel journaled on said lower end, a clamp pivoted on said upper end for gripping the gunnel rail, a seat on said upper end for underlying the gunnel rail, and a pin carried by the mounting between its ends and downwardly projecting to engage in the socket.

3. Incombination, a boat having a gunnel rail and a spray rail downwardly spaced from the gunnel rail, an elongated mounting having an upper and a lower end, a wheel, means journaling the wheel on said lower end, a clamp pivoted on said upper end for gripping the gunnel rail, a seat on said upper end for underlying the gunnel rail, and a pair of interengageable elements respectively carried by the spray rail and said mounting, for holding the mounting in proximity to the spray rail.

FRANK ALLEN OLIVER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,109,520 Flower Sept. 1,1914 1,376,496 Woodrufi May 3, 1921 2,042,598 Harvey June 2, 1936 2,339,782 Johnson Jan. 25, 1944 2,361,951 Livermon Nov. 7, 1944 2,424,641 Swanson July 29, 1947 2,500,602 Christensen Mar. 19, 1950 2,509,974 Jacobs May 30, 1950 2,533,895 Raveau Dec. 12, 1950 

